A good way to store greasy cotton balls is inside plastic drinking straws. Cut a straw in half. Cut the ends in convex semi circles (so the corners are rounded rather than straight across). Pinch one end closed with a pair of hemostats. Melt the end with a BIC lighter so it's sealed. Stretch out your greased cotton balls into long strings. Stuff them into the straw using a toothpick or Q-Tip with the end cut off to pack them down tight. Pinch remaining end of straw closed with hemostats when full of cotton. Melt end. Wipe excess vasoline off outside of straw. Waterprrof. Not messy to store. Cut open with a pocket knife lengthwise to extract cotton. Fluff cotton. You can sometimes find really fat plastic straws at specialty places like coffee/tea shops. I've got some that have to be at least 1/3 inch in diameter. You can cram a bunch of cotton balls in there.